Service Updates & Upcoming Public Holidays – w/c 1st June

Here you will find the latest global service updates and a list of upcoming worldwide public holidays. This is updated throughout the week with latest information available.

Service Updates

GENERAL: Following the earthquake in Nepal, Delhi International Airport is currently being used as a transit zone for the large amounts of humanitarian aid being sent to region. Due to this, disruption is expected to flight schedules and flight paths for planes landing or transiting this airport.

Australia – Australia Post have stated that very heavy rainfall and wind has resulted in flooding and damage to roadways and property in Queensland. This is making the delivery of mail unsafe for Australia Post staff in the 4xxx postcode area. Delays and backlogs are also being experienced due to roads being closed/flooded. Australia Post are putting contingency measures into place but delays should be expected. Ongoing (issue start date: 01/05/15)

UPDATE: As of the 6th May, the severe weather conditions in Queensland have subsided and normal mail operations have resumed in most of Queensland. However, expect a 2-3 day delay on deliveries whilst backlogs are cleared. Ongoing (issue start date: 01/05/15 – updated 08/05/15)

Belgium – Bpost have informed us that the mail processing centre in Liège/Luik has been effected by strike action which commenced on Friday 15th May. The strike is ongoing and is expected to last until a least 20th May. Delays to mail processing and delivery are expected nationally until the resolution of this action. Ongoing (issue start date: 15/05/15)

Belgium – Due to a technical issue at air traffic control, no arrivals or departures occurred for most of 28th May. The issue has now been resolved but a slight delay of 1-2 days is expected for mail to be processed. Ongoing (issue start date: 28/05/15)

Bhutan – Due a power shut-down for essential maintenance, no mail from overseas could be accepted and lodged from Thursday 21st May to Saturday 23rd May. Slight delays to mail processing could occur until any backlog is cleared. Ongoing (issue start date: 21/05/15)

Chile – We have been informed by the Chilean Post Office that workers in Chile’s national customs service have called for an indefinite strike, which began on Wednesday 20th May. This will cause delays to the processing of incoming mail.

UPDATE: The strike by workers in Chile’s national customs service has ended (as of 1st June) and therefore the suspension of all mail services has now been lifted. Mail that has been on hold in Chile will now be released from customs but significant delays are to expected due to the backlog. All other mail will be sent at the earliest available opportunity. Resolved (issue start date: 20/05/15 – updated 01/06/15)

China – High volumes of mail arriving in Shanghai and Guangzhou are resulting in backlogs and capacity issues for China Post. Delays to mail services are likely. Ongoing (issue start date: 03/11/14)

Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania – Mail despatches to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are currently experiencing minor delays due to airline availability issues. As a result we anticipate a delay to mail services of an extra day due to the reduced flight availability. Resolved (issue start date: 19/02/15)

Germany – Throughout May, the workers union Ver.di was involved in both warning strikes and full strike action. Negotiations were held on may 20th and 21st but unfortunately Ver.di has now announced further strike action. At this stage. these include a warning strike in the national letter and parcel delivery network, mostly in the northern parts of Germany (zip-code region 2-3) and the region Koblenz/Trier (zip code area 54 and 56). Meetings are scheduled to be held on 26th May to discuss strike action in the North Rhine-Westphalia region (zip-code region 4-5). In addition to this, a warning strike at the OE IPZ Frankfurt (Priority Mail & Parcels) is planned for Tuesday 26th and Wednesday, 27th May, 08:00-19:00 for the inbound shift. Additional action at Frankfurt for priority mail and at Niederaula for non- priority mail may occur until 22:00 on Friday 29th May. Delays to the processing and delivery of mail and parcels to the affected areas is therefore to be expected. Ongoing (issue start date: 13/05/15 – updated 29/05/15)

Iceland – The workers union SGS has announced a 48 hour strike in Iceland commencing 6th May. Several drivers at Iceland Post are a part of this union so this action will have an effect on mail distribution to Northern and Eastern parts of Iceland, post code areas 600 – 799. Resolved (issue start date: 06/05/15)

India – Indian postal workers unions have called for an indefinite national strike starting May 6th. The participating unions include the National Federation of Postal Employees (NFPE), the Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO), the All India Postal Employees’ Union and the National Union of Gramin Dak Sewaks (rural postal workers). Delays should be expected. Ongoing (issue start date: 05/05/15)

Italy – Poste Italiane has informed us that a strike of workers dealing with parcel processing is slowing down the normal operation of parcel processing and delivery. This strike started on Thursday 23rd April and it has not been confirmed how long this will last. Resolved (issue start date: 23/04/15)

Nepal – An earthquake, approximately 50 miles north west of Kathmandu, has caused severe damage in northern Nepal. Severe disruption to mail services is expected.

UPDATE: All mail services in Nepal have been officially suspended and Kathmandu Airport is now closed to all commercial cargo due to the humanitarian relief effort in the region. Ongoing (issue start date: 27/04/15 – updated 30/04/15)

Portugal – The pilot’ s union of TAP has announced a 10-day strike which will take place from Friday 1st May 2015 until Sunday 10th May 2015.This strike will have a significant impact on the processing of inbound, outbound and transit mail. We are trying to source alternative routes but significant delays are to be expected. Resolved (issue start date: 30/04/15)

Spain – The Spanish post office (Correos ES) has reported that trade unions have called for a partial strike in Correos’ Madrid facilities (Madrid 28000 – 28999) for Thursday 30th April. This includes Madrid OE, sorting centre (Madrid CTA), delivery units and postal offices and is scheduled to run for 4 hours. As consequence all inbound and outbound processes could be severely affected during this time, not only services from/to Madrid area, and could cause serious delays and backlog during 1st May (national holiday), 2nd May (regional holiday in Madrid) and 3rd May.

UPDATE: Further strike action has taken place intermittently throughout May. Although the last strike was on the 15th May and the subsequent backlog cleared, there is a possiblity of further strike action. We will advise accordingly as and when any action is announced. Ongoing(issue start date: 30/04/15 – updated 26/05/15)

Spain – Spanish air traffic controllers have called for a partial strike over four days in June. The dates are June 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th and during this period there will be severe disruption to mail services sent by air. Ongoing(issue start date: 01/06/15)